Turnabout Showroom
by HeckingObjection
Summary: Phoenix takes Maya to see a movie that she's been dying to see, and they find themselves right in the middle of a murder mystery! Did the defendant really kill his manager and friend? Or is someone else the real culprit of this movie mishap?
1. Chapter 1: Scene of The Crime

Nighttime is that moment after every span of sunshine that always has people out and about, having fun with their friends and family. It's actually my favorite part of the day. There are so many people enjoying their time when the sun sets going to festivals, having a late-night dinner, or what I had planned to do, go see a movie with my assistant Maya.

My name is Phoenix Wright. I've been a defense attorney for quite a while, and it always has made me feel a sense of pride. It's a passion I've enjoyed doing ever since my first case, where I not only got my childhood friend safe from being convicted of a crime he was falsely accused of, but found out who had accused him and found the truth in the situation. It's a rush of emotions every time I get into a case, being by the side of everyone, from complete strangers to my best friends.

Sometimes, I end up hearing about cases and become interested in defending for someone. Other times, like what's to happen soon (more on that later), I happen to stumble onto a crime scene myself. You never know what could happen when you're the first one to witness of a devastating situation…

My young assistant, Maya Fey, was interested in seeing a new movie at her favorite theater, Waterfall Theater. Despite it being so far away and how late at night it was 8:45 PM if I recall correctly, I drove her there anyway. I knew how much she wanted to see it, so I honestly couldn't say no. I remember her saying that she wanted to go to that specific place because the popcorn was a lot more tasty there than the other movie theaters. I couldn't blame her, I loved the popcorn there too, especially the kind with extra butter.

"Aaand, we've arrived," I said after the long drive, feeling slightly tired. "What was that movie you wanted to see called again?"

"I've told you a bajillion gazillion times, Nick!" Maya told me with a small laugh. "It's called Equestrian!" I was never really into horse racing, no wonder I never remembered after all these times she's told me the name of it. She told me that the movie is about this man named Jamie Noble who has been a fan of Equestrian, or horse racing, since he was a child and wanted to try the sport himself.

The two of us then walked into the movie theater, Maya skipping around a bit. I could tell that she was excited to see the movie, she only skipped around the movie theater every so often. This was one of those days. We went to the front desk and asked for two tickets to see the movie, and they were at a surprisingly expensive price.

"Twelve dollars a ticket?" I said to myself out loud. "I normally find tickets for seven or eight here!" I guess Maya heard me say that, since she immediately looked at me with puppy-dog eyes after I said it and then started clamoring about how good the movie was and why I should buy the tickets anyway, even while I became somewhat convinced and was paying for the tickets ten seconds into her ranting. I ended up giving her a ticket in the middle of her talking about how it's made a lot of money in the box office in its opening weekend.

Every time we went to Waterfall Theater, Maya and I would always head straight to the snack stand to get some popcorn with extra butter and a big cup of soda to drink. A surprise came to me when I saw that the person behind the desk of the snack stand was actually one of my childhood friends and my first client I ever defended alongside my late mentor, Mia Fey.

"Heyyy!" Larry, behind the desk told me, "I didn't know that you came here often! How's it been?" He then gave me a thumbs-up, like he usually does when he sees me. Larry has been a friend of mine ever since my days in elementary school. He's a tall, lanky man with light brown hair and a personality that you can't pass up. He's always been really expressive, you could easily tell when he's excited, scared, joyed, everything. His emotions changed pretty easily too. One second, he'd be really happy to see you, the next, he'd be frightened because he forgot to turn the lights off at his house.

"It's been awhile since my last case," I said, "so I decided to go with Maya here and see a movie with her. We've been having a lot of free time lately! When did you get a job here?"

"It's my first day," he said joyfully to me. "And boy, have I been doing a great job! We were actually about to close for the night after Equestrian gets done playing, so I think you may be my last customer for the day!" I thought that was pretty neat, Maya and I got here at the nick of time. I guess rushing to a place in a hurry can pay off sometimes. "Anyway, whatcha want to order? I really recommend the nachos with jalapeño cheese sauce. It really gives your tongue a kick, I've tried them myself!"

"I'll have-"

"The buttered popcorn! In the big bag! And a large orange soda!" Maya had burst out beside me, interrupting, yet finishing the order. Maya's really ecstatic, sometimes getting into situations too quickly to understand them. She's pretty young for an assistant in law, so I kind of expected her to act like that. She's really enjoyable nonetheless. I couldn't blame her for wanting to get the order in as quick as possible, the movie was going to start in around ten minutes.

"So uh," Larry started after a few seconds of awkward silence, "I'm assuming that's what you're getting, Nick?" I just simply nodded my head, still a bit surprised from Maya quickly telling the order in the middle of my sentence. Larry ended up scooping the buttery popcorn into a large bag, spilling a few pieces in the process, and filling a large cup with orange soda before putting a lid on the cup and a straw into it. He then gave the soda to me and the popcorn to Maya. Maya looked like her face was almost covered from how big the popcorn bag was.

"So," I started to say as I was handed the soda, "what's it like working at a movie theater? Do you get to meet some new folks here?"

"Oh, it's a fun job, Nick!" Larry happily stated to me. "I did get to meet a handful of new people when I started working, I like all of 'em! My managing mentor over there," he pointed to a tall, brown haired woman wearing the same shirt as Larry was wearing, but with a little crown pin on the shirt pocket, "her name is Niagara, and she's the one teaching me the ropes around working here! I can have her come over here and talk to you if you want!"

Before I could even reply, Larry was already rushing over to Niagara and telling her to meet me. She laughed a bit from how frantic he was acting, then decided to walk over here and wave. "I assume you're the Mr. Wright that Larry was talking about?" she had asked me. She had a nice smile and looked very friendly.

"Call me Phoenix," I said to her. "So, I guess you're Larry's manager here? He was pointing to you earlier and then ran to you faster than a cheetah!"

"Yep, that's me!" she said back to me. "Larry's been great around here for the time he's been here. He seems to get along with visitors very well, despite how clumsy he can be sometimes. But he's really nice, funny, he could be friends with anyone! I remember when I was interviewing him a few days ago, he even cracked a few jokes that made me laugh!"

"That really sounds like him!" Maya spoke up. "Knowing him, he might've been trying to flirt a bit!" Maya and Niagara laughed a little bit after that comment.

"I honestly wouldn't be surprised," Niagara said between laughs, "he does seem like the guy that would do that!"

"Has Larry been able to get along with the rest of the employees?" I decided to ask Niagara. "I think that they would appreciate him around."

"Jeez, Nick!" Maya has said to me, laughing a little. "You're almost sounding like one of Larry's parents!" She sometimes likes to throw little jabs at me. I don't really get mad. In fact, I actually find it humorous.

"He's been able to get along fine with most of the people here," she happily spoke to me, almost like a parent bragging about their child's A on a final exam. "Though, he hasn't been able to get along with everybody yet. He hasn't really met Victoria yet. She just works on weekends, so he hasn't been able to get along with her now. I do remember her coming in about an hour ago to see Space Armada Seven though, so Larry might be able to see her once that's done showing."

Agh, that's the movie I wanted to see today!

"Oh, also!" Larry said, popping out behind Niagara with a red stamp pad, surprising just about all of us "before you end up paying for the pop and popcorn, we're offering this deal to where if you pay three dollars, you can get a refill on any size soda after the movie to take home! All you gotta do is pay three dollars, then I'll stamp your hand to show that you're going to get a refill after the movie! What do you say, Nick?"

"I'll pass," I said, "I've been trying to drink a bit less soda and Maya will probably be waterlogged from how much soda we ordered." I laughed a bit afterward, Larry laughed too.

"Well, in that case, the popcorn and soda will be seven dollars and twelve cents," Larry said. "I don't think they let attorneys defend themselves in court for not paying the snack bill!" I payed the bill for the popcorn and soda, then headed with Maya to the room where Equestrian was playing. We couldn't really talk much longer since the movie was just about to start, so I could only wave back to Larry and Niagara as Maya and I went. I had to guide Maya around a turn since she couldn't see in front of her with the popcorn in her face. I also had to hold the door to the screening room for her since she had to hold onto the bag with two hands.

The screening room was almost pitch black. The only illumination in the room was from the screen that the movie would be played on, which was at the time, playing a trailer for Space Armada Seven, which I still felt jealous about not seeing. I guided Maya to a seat in the back row (that's her favorite spot) and sat beside her, making sure that she didn't spill any popcorn on the way to her seat.

"Y'know," Maya had whispered to me, "I wonder if some of the customers here like Larry here. He's really funny, maybe the people that watch comedy movies like being served by Larry!" She did have a point, it's never a bad thing for someone to laugh once in awhile.

After a short time, the movie was about to start. I heard the sounds of horses running in a race, a crowd of people chanting for their favorite racers. The movie was just about to start, and Maya was very excited…

Then the screen went white. And the movie went silent.

The crowd of people in the theater started to murmur to each other about what was going on, probably as confused as Maya and I were. There were several conversations in the theater, some I could hear being if the screen had problems with it or if the theater was closing early. I couldn't think of anything different other than what other people in the showroom had theorized.

Out of the blue, from the entrance to the theater, there was a man in a uniform similar to Larry's, except it was red and blue and had a badge on it. I could only assume that he was part of the security, because the next words to leave his mouth were some of the most alarming that some people in the theater have heard.

"Please evacuate the theater immediately, there is a life-threatening situation inside the theater! I repeat, please evacuate!" Everyone inside the showroom was in a state of shock and fear and darted straight for the nearest exit in the showroom. I immediately grabbed Maya's hand and rushed off the same way that we came into the showroom, hoping that the situation wasn't as bad as I thought it was.

But once I hit the main lobby, the reason for the evacuation became completely clear. The first thing that my eyes saw when I ran into the lobby with Maya was a horrific scene of Niagara slumped over on the desk of the snack stand, completely numb. Unmoving. Blood coming out of the side of her chest, spilling onto the desk as well. She was dead, there was nothing that could be said that would make me think otherwise.

Beside the body, Larry stood with the widest, most frightened eyes I had ever seen in my life. His hands had covered his mouth in complete shock. He couldn't move or look away. But the weird thing about the whole situation was one thing that I still can't get out of my head: his right hand had a huge red spot on it.

From a normal person's view, you couldn't have any other thought but the suspicion that Larry had killed Niagara. But I knew better, Larry couldn't have killed Niagara. He's not that kind of person. He would never kill anyone. I know because I've known him since childhood. I immediately rushed Maya out of the building as soon as I saw what was going on.

"W-what's going on, Nick?" Maya had asked me, trying to keep up with me. She was just as frantic and worried as I was.

"I think we may be on another case, Maya..."


	2. Chapter 2: Wrapping My Head Around This

In case you are wishing for a small bit of recap, I won't have any problems with telling exactly what happened that cold, dark night. I encourage reading through the next paragraphs, but I won't stop you if you wish to get back to this mysterious tale. Just skip the next two paragraphs if you wish to resume to after the events of the first chapter. If not, then let me clue you in on what happened

What my eyes had seen might as well have been the most sudden thing I have ever seen in my life. The plan for this night was only to take Maya, my young assistant, to a movie she had wished to see. Once we got to the theater, we found that Larry Butz, my childhood friend and the first person I defended for in court, had worked at the snack desk. He told us all about how he loved his job and met so many new people, including his manager, Niagara. She spoke to me about how Larry was doing very well at his job and got along with people very often. After May and I had left the snack desk, we went into the room where Equestrian, the movie Maya had wished to see, was going to play.

Seconds after the movie had started, there was an announcement from a security officer to evacuate the building because of an emergency. Maya and I had evacuated, along with everyone else, but while we were fleeing from the building, I witnessed the unthinkable. The person I just met ten minutes ago, lying dead, slumped over a desk. And one of my best friends obviously going to soon be accused as her killer. The only way this could be worse would be if Larry had actually snapped, grabbed a knife, and stabbed the person nearest to him. Here's the thing about that though: Larry wouldn't do such a thing. Even if he did, he's too unlucky for his own good to get away with it. On the contrary, the only question I could ask myself if Larry hadn't killed Niagara would be "who did?"

And now, our story resumes and the case starts once again.

The evacuation from the theater was decently unorganized and frenzied, but Maya and I were able to head to the parking lot and stay in our car. We weren't nearly the first ones out of the building, but we weren't the last either. I felt like it would probably be the safest idea to drive off to a different location until the alleged killer was found or had left the theater, but I needed to stay near the building. It's only human for someone to want to know the details of a new situation, and that's basically one of my duties as a defense attorney.

Maya was whimpering in the car, feeling extremely nervous from the previous turn of events. Her eyes were shut close, her mouth was quivering, and she was shivering with fear. I had to calm her down somehow, so I ended up turning the radio on in my car and played a few soothing tunes. Making someone feel calm after a circumstance like this, especially at Maya's young age, can be very difficult. Eventually, I was able to make her simmer down. I think one of the songs playing was her favorite.

"Maya," I started to talk in a reassuring voice, "I know that what just happened now may seem like the end of the world, but it's all going to be okay sooner or later. If I recall correctly, I remember hearing that the security is looking inside for anyone with a weapon. You're going to be safe, don't worry."

Maya was still sweating a little bit and breathing at a quicker pace than usual, but I knew that she was starting to feel safer. "It's just that," she started to talk between breaths, "I'm not sure if the security in there will be able to see that Larry didn't do what it looked like. Like, what if they end up taking Larry with them?"

"I… I'm not sure," I sighed. If the security ends up taking Larry away, I'd start to worry quite a bit. Surely they could see that he was unarmed if they search through him, but I don't know if they would still accuse him as a murderer. I could only assume they could, since he was the only obvious suspect at the scene. "If Larry needs me to help him with this, I promise that I'll help him. I'd be happy to defend for him again. He's one of the reasons I became a defense attorney in the first place."

"Do you…" she spoke back to me after a short pause. "Do you think we're able to head back inside and see if everything is clear?" Her idea seemed a bit strange to me at first. I've searched a murder scene or two before and haven't gotten myself in any trouble. I've been trusted to look into scenes a few times before, so it wouldn't hurt to look. It may even help me defend Larry in a case if it comes to that. I opened the door next to me in the car and walked out, giving Maya a hand signal telling her to follow. She tagged along about three or four steps behind me.

The two of us had walked to the front door of the theater and took a small peek inside. There were a few security guards and employees still in the building talking about the murder incident. One of them must have seen me look through the door, because he waved at me and said that the building was closed, but I could still come in if it was necessary.

Maya and I stepped inside the building and took a few seconds to analyze our environment. The lobby, aside from the snack stand of course, seemed almost in the same condition as when I had walked in before the murder. The only difference that you could see without getting into specifics was that there were a few bits of popcorn and candy on the ground. The movie posters (including Space Armada Seven's, which I still hope to see soon) almost looked untouched, and so did the front desk. It amazes me how they keep Waterfall Theater in such good condition all day. I have quite a hassle with keeping my office clean sometimes.

I was about to talk to Maya a bit more about the circumstances here, but when I turned around to talk to her, I couldn't. She wasn't behind me. I glanced around the lobby and found her by a movie poster trying to keep Larry from losing his mind since he was probably the first one to see Niagara slumped over the snack stand's desk. I decided to follow toward Maya and see if Larry knew anything about what happened. I needed to do two things. The first thing was to get Larry to stay calm from this whole situation, since I know how easily his emotions start to act up. The second thing was to ask him if he knew anything about what happened at the time of the murder. That second part is what I desperately need to help him out. I don't want to see him punished for this.

As I got closer to Maya and Larry, I could hear them say a few words to each other. It sounded like Maya was trying to get him to simmer down from this whole predicament, and I don't blame her. He's easily scared by events like this one. Larry seemed to be more calm than in the first case I defended him for, he may be getting more used to this. I just wish that he won't have to serve time for a false accusation.

"Is everything okay over here?" I asked the two. "That was quite a ruckus that went on before the evacuation."

"Nick, oh my gosh," he exclaimed, "you're here!" He grabbed onto my shoulders and started to shake me back and forth. I started to feel a little bit nauseous, kind of like when I went on a tilt-a-whirl ride at a theme park with Maya once.

"Larry, calm down!" I tried to reason with him. "You're going to make me feel queasy here!" But he kept shaking anyway, still ecstatic about me still being at the theater.

"You have no idea how much I needed you here, Nick!" He exclaimed to me. I've been an attorney for Larry before, so I think he's happy to have me with him for a while, even when I'm still not sure if I'm going to be his attorney for this case. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the whole hubbub. "You're gonna be such a huge help to me," he continued. "I'm about to be cast into the ocean in a coffin, dude! I already bet that I'm gonna die before tomorrow! Nick, you gotta-"

"Hey, what's going on here?!" A voice said from the hallway to the screening rooms. I have heard that voice several times before, always being immediately recognizable. Soon afterward, there was a man in a green jacket and a brown suit stomping up straight toward Larry, with a quite serious look on his face. "Larry Butz, come with me! You're under arrest for the murder of-"

"Gumshoe, hold on! Hold on!" Maya and I had started to plead with the broad-shouldered man. This tall man is known as detective Dick Gumshoe. He tends to follow me around in a handful of my investigations, and occasionally gets himself in the way of my work. I forgive him for his intrusions, though I wish he did them less often. He takes his job very seriously (which I guess he has to, he investigates crime scenes as a job), but if he gets any new info, he'll be calm and listen to any detail he gets. He even worked in the investigation of the murder of my late mentor, Mia Fey.

"Listen to me, Wright!" He said in his usual booming voice. "This guy was the only guy at the scene of the murder when the security found him! How could he not be the guy who killed Ms. Falls?"

"Falls is Niagara's last name," Larry said to Maya and I, "it's kinda corny, but it's catchy too!" Maya tried to not giggle to herself. I'm starting to think that maybe Larry started to work here because he wanted to meet someone with a clever name.

"Now isn't the time for jokes, Mr. Butz!" Gumshoe yelled back, "You're coming wi-"

"Mr. Gumshoe, wait a second!" Maya pleaded further with the man in the long, green jacket. "Nick and I were just about to ask Larry a few things about what happened earlier tonight!"

"I'm not going to be taking any excuses here!" He thundered. "Especially when I've literally caught the murderer here red-handed!" He pointed to Larry's blood stained hand with a stern look in his eyes. Larry looked down at his own hand and noticed that it was splattered with a dark red without realizing it before. He was stunned, to say the least.

"W-where did that come from?" Larry questioned, holding the wrist of his red hand with his normally colored hand. I don't know how his hand could've gotten red. What if he actually did murder Niagara? He couldn't have done such a thing! "There's gotta be some sort of reason for this! I mean, uh… What if my hand… Agh, I'm gonna die here!" He kept stammering in confusion for while.

"And I bet you tried getting that off too!" Gumshoe bellowed. Tried getting it off? What could he have been talking about? Maya looked at me with a puzzled look on her face. She was just as dazed as I was. Gumshoe grabbed a camera he had stuffed in a pocket of his huge jacket and showed Larry, Maya, and I a picture of the men's restroom. The large, porcelain sink inside the room had been stained crimson! "Try scrubbing a bit harder next time you kill someone!" He yelled out. "Come with me!"

Larry's arm was grabbed by Detective Gumshoe as he was dragged out of the theater. Larry was scrambling to get himself free, but he couldn't escape the tight grasp of the detective. I think he yelled out something at me before he was dragged out of the building, but I could only hear the words "didn't do it" and "please."

"Oh, gosh…" Maya looked downward and held her hands together. She looked to be upset, kind of like how she acted in my car after the evacuation. "Do you think Larry's going to be okay, Nick?" She quietly questioned. I didn't give any response for a while. I couldn't tell if he was going to or not. I'm not sure if he's ever been in a situation like this one. It scares me quite a bit, but I have faith that Larry is going to be just fine. He can handle this, at least I think he can.

There are a lot of questions flying around in my head about this event. Some of them harder to answer than others. Why was Larry the only one at the scene of the murder when Niagara was found dead? How did Larry's hand get covered in crimson? What motive would anyone have for killing Niagara? I guess I'd have to find these out one way or another.

"He'll be fine," I finally spoke again to Maya, "for now at least. And if we want to keep him safe, we have to work at an extreme level of concentration and observation. Now is no time to rest. We'll have to dig through every piece of info relating to this crime if we want that Not Guilty verdict at the end of it all." I could feel a rush of determination flowing through me as I said that, and it must have been contagious because Maya clenched her fists a few inches in front of her and gave a confident smile at me.

"Right," she boldly spoke. "I don't care if we have to dig all the way to China to win this! We're gonna win this one! And it's gonna feel amazing!" She looked very thrilled with that quote. If there was anyone who could give me determination to push ahead, it would be Maya. She is always there in my corner to cheer me on in the most desperate moments. I'm really glad to have her around.

"That's the spirit!" I said, giving her a pat on the back. "Now, our first order of business is to see if anyone here can give us any extra information on the matter. If they give us any details at all, even just small ones, we have to plant those seeds of evidence in our heads. Any amount of detail has the ability to turn a courthouse upside down!"

"I know, Nick!" She said to me. I got a bit confused for a second. Wouldn't Maya be a bit more pumped up? Wouldn't she be more excited to be looking for information after saying that speech about how every single piece of evidence you see can change so much in a case? "I've been in a bajillion cases with you! You think I wouldn't know that?"

Oh.

Real smooth, me. Real smooth.


	3. Chapter 3: Detention Center

June 19th

Detention Center

Guest Parking Lot

After Maya and I had our little pep talk to each other, we decided to see if we could get any extra info out of Larry for the undeniably upcoming court case to appear later in time. If there's anything that I know about being a defense attorney, it's that you need to have a possible scenario of your client being innocent of the crime with proof if you want any chance of winning a case. I remember Mia telling me that evidence can turn a courthouse into a madhouse sometimes, in the best way possible, of course. So that's what I went out on a hunt for. Evidence, anything at all to help me out, even just a little.

I still think that it was really weird to see Larry being arrested on the spot. But I guess he was the detective agency's only option for a suspect at that point, so I can't blame them for doing so. If I hadn't known Larry before, I'd probably have that same suspicion. Maya probably would've arrested him and pleaded to choose the verdict and punishment too if she didn't know him.

Now back onto the topic of evidence. After a good night of sleep, Maya and I decided we would drive to the only place we know where our clients could be after being accused of crime: the detention center. I've visited that place a few times before with my clients (and even was held there once, but that's not important to this), and they've always been able to lead me to the beginning of the journey to a Not Guilty verdict. They've always guided me to where I soon get all the evidence I'll ever need to win any case I'm faced with.

After a fairly quiet drive, Maya and I had arrived at the detention center. Visiting hours only were held for so long today, so Maya and I knew that we could only stick around for a short time. Nevertheless, it's still enough time to ask a few questions or so. Any info is useful info, that's my motto.

The two of us walked in through the front doors and found directions to where we could visit Larry. It wasn't a far walk, but it felt like forever since I had come to realize that I was visiting my childhood friend when he could possibly be brought to the slammer if no one helps him out. Just having to realize that this is reality and not some strange and bizarre nightmare might even be the hardest part of this. Looking at Maya while walking to the visitor's room, I could see that she was having trouble recognizing the situation as well. She's normally filled to the brim with emotion, but now, she looked almost as sad as she was when she found out that her older sister had been murdered. I really hoped she'd be able to cope sooner or later.

June 19th, 9:07

Detention Center

Visitor's Room

Walking into the visitor's room, I could see Larry Butz, brown jacket and all, sitting on the other side of the glass window where I could talk to him. As usual, a policeman was on guard, making sure everything stayed under control during the whole visit. He looked over to me and gave me a nod. I nodded back to him, seeing that it was the respectful thing to do. Larry hadn't even noticed Maya and I yet, he was just twiddling his thumbs and occasionally scratching his head. I sat down in the seat in front of the glass screen where Larry sat behind. He still didn't notice me, for some reason. Wouldn't he recognize me by now?

"Hey, Maya," I whispered over to Maya. "Larry isn't looking at us. Do you think he knows we're here?"

"Don't worry," she said back to me with a wink, "I gotcha covered!" She glanced over toward Larry, having a little bit of a depressed look on her face. I thought she suddenly had gotten really depressed, but I could tell she was faking it when she said "Larry, I heard that your girlfriend moved to Hawaii."

Larry immediately turned his head toward Maya and pretended to spit out a drink before yelling out "What do you mean Chrysanthemum moved?! We've only been hanging out for a week!" Maya had started to roll on the floor, giggling at his reaction as Larry was still in a frenzy of panic. I had to give a small laugh too, it was definitely a sight to see. It reminded me of the other times his previous girlfriends moved, which all happened to be models.

"Don't worry, Larry!" Maya said between laughs, "I'm only messing with you! Calm down! She didn't move!" Maya then resumed to giggle, attempting to regain her stature.

Larry just crossed his arms and pouted. "Don't do that again," he stubbornly said. "Even if she does move, don't tell me about it. I'd rather be happy while I can." I had trouble understanding that logic, but it was Larry. I've always had times where he'd say something that could barely be recognized.

"So Larry," I decided that now would be a good time for introduction. Somehow, he only noticed that I was here just when I started talking. "I bet that it's been a rough time for you here so far."

"Uh," he scratched his head. "To be honest, it's not as bad as I thought it would be, but it still kinda makes me feel a little lonely. I mean, at least it's not like an actual prison where the other crime guys want to kill me!" I guess that is a positive, isn't it?

"Well, I just wanted to talk to you about something," I responded. "I know that it's quite short notice, especially since it's the day after something that everyone thinks you did…"

"That's the thing!" Larry interrupted me. "Everyone thinks I did it! But do they know the whole story? Not at all! That's what everyone does these days, doesn't it? Jump to conclusions?" I could've sworn that he was about to start rambling all day like this one security lady I met in another case.

"Well, before you get drenched in stress or something like that," I said before he could keep going on his rant, "I was wondering if it was okay if I defend for you in your trial."

"Nick," Larry started to stroke his chin and tilt his head to the side, "isn't the quote-unquote criminal supposed to ask the attorney stuff like this?"

"I mean," I guess I might've forgotten about that. This is basics, Wright! What are you thinking? "I guess you're right. You should be able to choose your attorney. I'm sorry about that."

"Okay, Nick!" Larry smirked back at me and snickered. I waited for him to say something else. Larry was silent. Maya was silent. I was silent. Just as silent as the officer watching us have this conversation. I didn't think I should've said anything and thought Larry would give the next line of speech. But he stood as still as a statue. Back in 2015, this would've gone viral on the internet within two days.

…

"Nick, defend for me please! I need you, man!" Larry shouted with his hand clenched and some tears suddenly coming out of his eyes. He always altered his emotions at the most sudden times, so Maya and I were shocked by this, even though we knew he'd ask this sooner or later.

I had to hold in a bit of laughter so I wouldn't hurt his feelings. "Of course I'll defend for you, Larry! Why wouldn't I help a friend out?" Larry probably needed me more than any of my other clients to be honest, he has a really hard time getting people to believe him when he's in sticky situations. Plus, I think it's a good thing that I'm able to help an old friend get out of trouble.

Larry did a fist-pump and shouted a triumphant "Woo hoo!" He then proceeded to start dancing in his chair, swinging his arms and rolling his shoulders. If this is how he acts when he gets an attorney, then I can't wait to see how he'll act if I win this case for him.

"Well," I decided now would be a good time to start collecting information, "are you able to recall much about what happened yesterday at the murder?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Larry spoke. "Well, it was around 9:00 last night, maybe a bit later than that. I was never good at remembering times. Niagara and I had just got done serving you and Maya at the snack stand. We didn't see anyone else come in after you that day."

"So we were the last ones to come in that day?" Maya asked Larry.

"Now that I think about it," Larry said after a short pause, "I'm not sure. I could guess that you were the last people to come in, sure. But don't quote me on it."

What Larry said stuck me to be intriguing. I needed to get more information about him in this situation. "Why are you not sure about whether or not Maya and I were your last customers?" I questioned.

"It's because I had to go into the restroom," Larry told me. "When I was giving you the offer for the drink refills, some of the stamp stuff, whatever it's called, got onto my hand. I had to wash my hands to get it off. I never was able to get rid of all of it, though. Once it gets onto your hands, it takes a huge amount of scrubbing to get it off! Even if I used a sponge, that stuff won't get off there!"

"Do you mean like the web from that one spider villain from The Steel Samurai?" Maya gasped. Anytime she could talk about her favorite show with someone, even in the most dire moments, she'd do it. There's no stopping her sometimes.

Larry laughed. "Exactly like that! Anyway, I felt like I was taking too long washing my hands in the restroom, so I ended up walking back to the snack stand. And when I got back, I saw, uh…" He sighed. "I saw you-know-what at the stand."

"You're referring to Niagara just after the murder?" I asked. Larry just hung his head low and nodded. "So why were you right next to Niagara when everyone was evacuating the theater?"

"This may sound kinda stupid," Larry responded, scratching his head, "but I kinda had the feeling that she was still alive. I went over to check on her, I even tried to talk to her and shake her hand to see if she was awake."

"Larry!" Maya had the most surprised look on her face. "Don't you know what that means!?" It was easily seeable that she was extremely shocked and concerned. She caught mine and Larry's attention in the process. "You touching the body would leave your prints on Niagara! That would make you look even more like the murderer!" Maya was right. Somehow, when the first day of the trial rolls around, I'm going to have to possibly tell everyone that Larry touched the body but wasn't the murderer. How would I get someone to believe me with that? How would I get an entire courtroom to believe me? I'm having trouble believing myself even thinking about it.

"Uh…" Larry was starting to sweat a little, probably because of the sudden realization of what Maya said. "I-I know, it's j-just that I was really curious to see if she was still alive, th-that's all!"

"Larry," I decided to speak up. "You're telling the exact truth here, right? You're not lying to me at all?"

Larry sat looking down for a few seconds and sniffled. A few seconds later, he clenched his fists in front of his chest. "I promise to you, I am telling the hundred-and-ten-percent truth! I wouldn't lie to you, Nick! Especially since you're my attorney in this case! That would just be idiotic, right?"

"Hm…" I had to ponder to myself for a short while. This is definitely a kind of case where you have to think very long and hard on how you're going to present your evidence, what you want to say, and how the crime could've gone down. Even if this case does end up being one that seems impossible to defend, I'll still make sure to strive for success.

"Nick," Maya was addressing me while putting her hand close to her mouth. "Do you think that Larry could have done this?"

"He wouldn't kill someone, Maya," I said after a pause. "Though it's easy for him to make it look like big things are happening. Remember Gourdy? That was all Larry and his blow-up Steel Samurai, well, blowing up!" Back in a previous case of mine, probably one of the most significant in my career, there was a newspaper telling about this monster in Gourd Lake nicknamed Gourdy. It turned out that the monster was actually Larry's inflatable Steel Samurai was the real monster. Only the moon knew of the scene that night…

"Well," I continued. "Do you happen to know of any events that happened after the murder other than the evacuation?"

"Not directly after," he tilted his head while talking, "but I did hear from the detective in questioning that he was going to go back to Waterfall Theater. Apparently they were supposed to call back as many people that were at the theater during the murder to see if anyone had witnessed the murder. I think he also said something along the lines of confirming an autopsy report too? But don't quote me on that!"

An autopsy report! That's something that I need for this case! I could go to the theater and get in contact with a detective there to hand a copy of the autopsy report to me! "Perfect!" I said with a smile. "Larry, thanks! I'll have to head back to the theater soon! You've been a great help!"

"Aw, shucks," Larry said, dangling his shirt sleeve and grinning. "That means a lot, Nick! I'm happy to help you out too!" I guess this could be Larry returning the favor for me being his attorney in this case. I then tapped Maya on the shoulder and excitedly told her that we were going to the theater to get an autopsy report. The two of us then waved goodbye to Larry and headed toward the parking lot.

See, even my clients can help me out sometimes. When I don't know where to begin, my clients are my guides. They've led me to amazing places and exhilarating journeys. This was just the first thing I'd have to do today, so I'd guess I'd be in for a lot of work today. That didn't bother me, though. It's just a part of my job, isn't it?

Well, time's wasting. It's time to start my investigation and get clues, find evidence, and start the journey to a Not Guilty verdict!


End file.
